


The Lizard-Like Smile

by TigerAndBadWolf



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 21:33:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1124606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerAndBadWolf/pseuds/TigerAndBadWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being discharged from the British Army Sebastian Moran has to find a way to earn money for himself and his brother. Jim wants Sebastian to work for him. At first Sebastian refuses the offer but Moriarty has his very own way of convincing people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lizard-Like Smile

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first fanfiction. It is loosely based on an omegle roleplay that I had some time ago. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Sebastian was sitting in the local pub drinking cheap beer. He had just finished a job and didn’t want to go home already because what waited at home was even more depressing than drinking disgusting beer in a dirty pub run by a fifty year-old boozer. Sebastian didn’t mind any of that. In fact he was quite happy that he could come here in a blood-soaked shirt without anyone asking questions. Since he’d been discharged from the army roughly one year ago no honourable man wanted to employ him. That’s why he earned the money to feed himself and his brother by working as a hitman for the smaller and unimportant criminals of London. Needless to say that the money he earned was very little. From time to time Sebastian would also pickpocket or assassinate a rich-looking guy who made the mistake to go out at night but those jobs weren’t lucrative and also risky. His brother, Severin, was sitting at home as always. Sebastian wondered what he might be doing at the moment but he forced himself to think of something else. Severin wasn’t able to work which was why Sebastian had to earn the money so they could feed themselves and pay rent for the pathetic flat they were sharing. He emptied his beer and immediately ordered another one.

Jim Moriarty entered the pub with an expression of disgust on his pale face. He hated being in establishments like this but it became necessary from time to time. He easily spotted the tall, blond man who was sitting at the table in the corner all by himself. Jim paced the room and he could feel how some people were staring at him while others actively avoided looking. His appearance was indeed remarkable and with his expensive suit and his black leather shoes he seemed entirely out of place. In moments like this he could feel his power: When everyone knew who he was but no one would dare to say something out loud. For some seconds the pub was quiet but as Jim approached the table in the corner he could hear that the conversation were going back to normal.

“Excuse me, do you mind if I join you?”, he asked the muscular man and put on his most trustworthy-looking fake smile.

Absent-mindedly Sebastian raised his head and looked at the dark-haired man in a suit. “Yeah, sure.”, he mumbled and continued staring into his already half-empty glass.

Jim sat down at the chair across the table. He really didn’t want to spend more time in this pub than absolutely necessary so he chose to start the conversation right away. He leaned over the table to be as close to Sebastian as possible and said, “Let’s make this quick, Moran. You need a job and I am offering you a job.”

Sebastian seemed confused for a moment but then he raised his gaze to look at the man who spoke with a light Irish accent. For a moment he thought about getting up and breaking the man’s neck. He had never seen the man before in his life but he looked at Sebastian as if he knew everything about him. And people who knew things were always dangerous. On the other hand he really needed a job. So instead of asking who the man was or how he knew Sebastian he asked, “What kind of job?”

Moriarty smiled and this time it was his real smile. A smile that looked strange and terrifying and would have been much more fitting for a lizard than for a human face. “Good, you’re either motivated or desperate. Or both. Anyway, during your time you were the best sniper in the British Army and I am currently looking for the right man to fill a gap in my system.”

Sebastian nodded and let his head sink again. Although he’d never met the man before he now knew who he was. The way he spoke and behaved and also the way he looked left no doubt . “So you’re that Moriarty bloke?”, he asked and it sounded more displeased than he had intended. After a second of silence he added, “I thought you were bigger.”

“Oh you’ve heard of me?”, he asked sarcastically and rolled his eyes. Jim ordered a drink from the passing waiter and then turned back to Sebastian with a mild and almost soft expression on his face. “Don’t you miss killing people, Sebastian? Don’t you miss pulling the trigger and watching people die at your hands? You could make your name well-known again. All you need to do is accept my offer.”

The man chuckled but it sounded unnatural and uneasy, the laughter of a man who forgot how to laugh a long time ago. “I have heard of you, Moriarty. And that’s the reason why I’m going to refuse your offer.” He got up from the chair and grabbed his jacket. Of course he’d heard of Moriarty. Moriarty, the most dangerous man in London, the Napoleon of crime, an extremely intelligent psychopath. Under different circumstances he might have accepted the offer but not now. He’d sworn to himself that he would keep his brother safe and the last thing Severin needed was even more pain, blood and crime. Sebastian turned his back to Moriarty as headed for the door.

Moriarty didn’t move when he saw that Sebastian intended to leave. He didn’t have to move because he knew the only thing he needed to keep the man here was one short sentence. “Think about your brother, Sebastian.” The criminal’s voice was low and casual as if he was talking about the weather or asking what time it was.

Sebastian understood the threat never the less. He froze immediately and his body was slightly shaking with tension and rage as he slowly turned around. After a moment he was back sitting at the table with his blue eyes fixed on the other’s dark-brown ones. “Don’t you dare threaten my brother. You may think that London is yours but if you think that anyone will bat an eye if I cut your throat open right here and now then you’re wrong. Because as soon as you’re dead no one will care anymore and all those people that were pretending to be loyal will be someone else’s by tomorrow.”

The criminal shook his head and answered, “I think you’re missing the point, Moran. Right now I am alive and I intend to stay alive for a while longer. You won’t kill me and I will explain to you why.” Moriarty subconsciously licked his lips and when he started talking again he was all but hissing at Sebastian. “You can’t be stupid enough to believe that I came here unprepared. I know everything about your life. Every tiny detail. I am going to win, Sebastian, I always win.” He leaned back into the cheap wooden chair and added, “Think about your poor brother. He is so vulnerable and he needs your help. But you are not there to protect him because you are too busy drinking beer.” The sly grin on Jim’s face made the words seem even more terrible, if that was possible.

That was the moment when Sebastian realized he had lost. It didn’t matter anymore so he stopped acting lowered his gaze. “I managed to keep him safe for one year. That’s something. I did my best.” His voice was rough, broken.

“You both were never safe, Sebastian. I had an eye on you two even before you were in Afghanistan. I had hoped that I could employ you both in case you survived the war. But it didn’t go as I hoped it would.”, he explained as he studied the man’s expression.

“It didn’t go as I hoped it would either.”, he growled bitterly and avoided looking at the dark-haired man sitting across the small table.

Moriarty folded his hands in front of him, his gaze still fixed on Sebastian. He knew he had won. But Jim wasn’t done yet. He wanted to use the situation to get information he’d been searching for since the day Sebastian had been discharged. Information that had been hidden good enough that James Moriarty couldn’t find them were definitely worth having. “I’ve read the official files, psychological reports and certain documents by the secret service but there is no way to find out what actually happened, Mr. Moran. I would like you to tell me the story from your point of view, if you don’t mind.”

Sebastian leaned back into the chair, apathy and resignation were plainly written on his face. The whole story seemed so far away almost as if it had happened to a different man and not to himself. There was no point in hiding it anymore so Sebastian began telling the story that he’d been trying very hard to forget. His sentences were short and simple because that way the emotions wouldn’t come back, he hoped.  
“Severin and I fought in Afghanistan. One day during a terrorist attack some of our men were captured. Severin was one of them. I actually believed that the army cared and that they would do something. They decided to let them die because England would never negotiate with terrorists. Some men decided to free them on their own, I was one of them. When we found them most of them were already dead. They had been tortured and worse.”  
He took a deep breath as the old images shot back into his head and he felt sick. But he felt the need to finish telling the story. That’s what he owed the men that were killed and Severin.  
“My brother was still alive. But he wasn’t the same anymore. He wouldn’t talk anymore, he wouldn’t laugh and he barely moved. He was discharged from the army and so was I.”

If Jim felt any emotions he didn’t show them. He was analysing Sebastian’s story, he was calculating. “They must have giving you a certain amount of money as a compensation.”, he stated. “What happened to that money?”

Sebastian let out a short humourless laugh. “The money was quickly gone. I wasted every penny of it on his psychological treatment because I wanted him to be happy again. Nothing helped. They diagnosed PTSD and mutism but there is no way to heal him.”

Jim nodded and when he was finished over-thinking the whole story he added, “You had to be strong for your brother and I suppose that’s why you try so hard to ignore your own mental health. Your post-traumatic stress disorder is apparent but you managed to hide it under all that rage.” There was a hint of admiration in the criminal’s voice. “I will be honest with you Sebastian. I don’t want your brother and I don’t care what happens to him. I want you. You want to be a proper sniper again and first of all you want your revenge.”

At the beginning of their conversation Sebastian had been intimidated and confused by Moriarty’s ability to tell his secrets and thoughts by just looking at him. By now he was already getting used to it. For the first time since a very long time he felt like he had nothing to hide. “I want two things, Mr. Moriarty. I want my brother safe and I want my revenge.”

“Sounds like a deal.”, concluded Moriarty and the lizard-like smile lightened up his features.


End file.
